Walk on the Ocean
by Kat0507
Summary: AU: Newly married, Nathan and Haley go on the run after nearly losing their lives. They struggle with forming new identities and careers, starting a family and deciding who they can trust in small town far away from their loved ones. Sequel to Far Away


Walk on the Ocean

**Disclaimer**: Characters, minor plot points and dialogue belong to CW/WB, Mark Schwahn and _One Tree Hill_ writers.

**Summary**: AU: Newly married, Nathan and Haley go on the run after nearly losing their lives. They struggle with forming new identities and careers, starting a family and deciding who they can trust in small town far away from their loved ones.

**Rated M: **M rating is for mature adult psychological and sexual themes addressed in this story.

**AN:** This story is a continuation of _Far Away_, the sequel to _With or Without You_. You may need to read that to fully understand all the psychological issues presented in this story. You could also pm me with questions. For those of you that read part(s) one/two, there may be some parts here that are repetitive as I try to catch new readers up (sorry!).

Brief summary of "With or Without You"

Nathan and Haley grew up together as close childhood friends that later bonded more deeply through a traumatic childhood experience. After struggling with their feelings, they began dating in high school and fell deeply in love. Their relationship quickly fell apart after a horrible fight ended with one of Nathan's friends, Damien, beating Haley with a bat. Nathan took out his vengeance on Damien and then removed himself from Haley's life. Later, Nathan was shot by one of Damien's henchmen and Damien went on the run, threatening Haley from afar. Nathan and Haley tried to live separate lives for approximately eight years, but neither found themselves happy or fulfilled. _Far Away_ picked up with the two reconnecting, both living in Boston. Nathan was a Celtics player plagued with a back injury and Haley was working at a non-profit organization for women and living with Nathan's sister, Rachel, who had manipulated and lied to her to keep her away from her brother. Damien was still on the lam and appeared to be a serious threat.

Brief summary of "Far Away"

After years of separation, Haley and Nathan committed to spending their lives together, but struggled with integrating their lives. Haley's life was still threatened by Damien, and Nathan's status as a professional athlete made it difficult for them to take their relationship public. Eventually, Damien learned of their relationship and tried to kidnap Haley. The plan was foiled by the F.B.I. and Agent Derek Sommers of the U.S. Marshall Service, who arranged for Haley to go into hiding for a few months. When Nathan and Haley reunited, they faced many issues; some new and some old. With Nathan's support, Haley overcame her fear of leaving the house and began therapy. She learned to trust herself and started to form an identity separate from Nathan. She even tried to work through her issues with Rachel and encouraged Nathan to do the same. The changes Nathan and Haley's relationship brought them even closer and they worked through the issues of Haley's attack and their subsequent time apart. In effort to throw off Damien's pursuit of their nuptials, Nathan and Haley jetted off to the Florida Keys with friends and family to have a secret wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony during sunset on the beach. The only stain on the day was absence of Nathan's parents and having a very drunk Rachel escorted out of the ceremony. Chapter 1 of _Walk on the Ocean_ picks up a few days after the wedding ceremony, with Nathan and Haley still at the beach resort, but preparing to leave for their last-minute honeymoon.

As with the other parts of the story, the prologue takes place in the midst of the story.

Prologue: "Sam's Town" (The Killers)

As Nathan loaded items into the suitcase spread open on the bed, Haley immediately started taking them out.

"Haley!" Nathan exclaimed when he saw what she was doing.

"You're not leaving! You can't go!" Haley yelled wildly. She could see how she looked through Nathan's eyes; unhinged, crazy, mad. She didn't care. She would do whatever she had to get him to stay.

Nathan threw his hands up in frustration. "I have to go!"

"You said we would _never_ be apart again! You promised!"

Nathan pushed aside the suitcase and sat down on the bed. She was right. Still, it didn't change things; he had to go. He just didn't want to leave on these terms. "I'm coming back."

"You don't know that," Haley said standing in front of him with her arms crossed. "There's a chance that….it's a trap and if it is…." She trailed off unable to finish those thoughts.

Nathan reached out, grabbed her hands and held them. "I'm doing this to protect our family, Hales. I have to end this once and for all."

"You don't even know if he's dead. What if he isn't? What if they're trying to lure you out of hiding? You know what Derek told us when we agreed to do this. Then, Lucas—he told us it we still had to stay away. He said that he'd—"

"It's my about my dad, too, Hales. I need to make peace with him."

"What about you as a father?" She challenged him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Doesn't that count for something?"

"See, that's it. Being a father changes _everything_. I get it now. I understand the need to do whatever it takes to protect your family. One day I'm going to have to look in our son's eyes and explain to him about his grandfather. I don't want to do that with this hanging over me."

"But if he's dead, Nathan, then there's nothing you can do."

Nathan's eyes darted back and forth as he looked at Haley. He wanted so badly for her to understand, but he knew it wasn't going to happen. "I need to find out. And I need to figure out whatever the hell else is going on back there!"

Haley furiously shook her head, unconvinced. "No."

Nathan pushed up and moved away from her. "I'm not asking, Hales." He walked over to the dresser and picked up his wallet. He emptied out his credit card, license and photographs. He turned around and saw Haley standing firmly in front of the suitcase to prevent him getting near it. "I'm going to be smart about it. You have to trust me." He pointed to the things he'd just removed from his wallet. "No traces of our life here."

"How are you going to get there?" Haley challenged him knowing full well where the conversation was going.

"I need cash," Nathan reluctantly admitted.

"Well, you're on your own there," Haley said tersely.

"Haley, don't do this to me," Nathan pleaded. "Let me use the savings account."

"That's _my_ account," she said flatly.

Nathan's anger began to bubble to the surface. Didn't she know how difficult this was for him? "Oh, so it's _your_ account now?"

"If you get to make this decision without me, then yes! It's _my_ account! It's not like you ever wanted me taking on those shifts at the café anyway!"

"Damn strait! How do you think it feels that my wife has to have two jobs to support our family? That's what this about, too! I need to man up and take responsibility—"

"Don't make this about money, Nathan. Our safety, our family is so much more important that that!"

"Is that why you opened up your 'let's save up money to have a baby' saving account? And is that why you won't let me have any of that money? Face it, Hales, money is important to giving us the family we've always wanted."

She hated how accurate those statements were. "We've been managing without it."

"Barely!" Nathan looked at his wife carefully. "Are you pregnant?"

"Fuck you," Haley spat out.

"Are you?" Nathan asked raising his voice.

Haley picked up the object closest to her—a copy of _Julius Caesar_—and chucked the book at him. He ducked and the book flew past him, just onto the suitcase. "You really think I would do that? You think I would go behind your back and get pregnant? Huh? Do you? No, because unlike you, I wouldn't go ahead and do something so dramatic against your wishes."

Nathan ignored those remarks. He didn't have a good defense and didn't want to get into that argument. "Don't make this harder than it has to be. Give me the money, Hales."

"NO! If you do this, you're doing it all on your own!"

"Then I guess that how's it going to be," Nathan said quietly. "You know, I really wish you would trust me. I wish you would have faith that this is what's best for our family."

"It's not you I don't trust, Nathan. _It's them_. Look at how we got here."

* * *

The tears were coming so fast down Haley's face that she didn't even bother wiping them away. She continued to pack items away in her suitcase until her emotions overwhelmed her. She rested her weight on the palms on her hands, pushing down on the suitcase and began loudly sobbing.

She should have seen this coming. How could she not have seen how much her husband was struggling? He was under so much pressure. He'd given up so much just to make this work; to give her everything she wanted. Yet in the end, he didn't see it that way. He felt like he couldn't give her enough. So in that way, she'd failed him, too. She didn't help him see just how happy she was and how grateful she was for this new life they carved out.

Sure it was hard at first, starting new lives in a place far away; a place that was supposed to be _better_ and _safe_. In this place, they had only one real connection to their past. Well, Chase was just a connection to _her past_. Yes, that was another sacrifice from Nathan. He let a man he loathed into their lives so she could feel safe enough to discover her identity and start a family. He never saw the truth; it was him that gave her that security—no one else.

And what had he gained in this process? He didn't have a solid job. He had to go back to school to finish out his degree. He was stuck coaching a freshmen girls' basketball team in a town where they had to beg people to watch their games. No one understood how lucky they were to have him around to challenge and motivate those teens. Literally everything about his life was different. It was such a far cry from his life living out his dream as a professional basketball player.

When did the communication between them breakdown? Was she so involved in her career and quest to start to a family that she'd neglected her role as a wife? Had she driven him to these desperate measures? Had she driven him away?

Haley's head popped up when she heard the crying from the room across the hall. With that, she wiped away her tears. Maybe she had failed as a wife, but that didn't change the fact that she was a mother; that was something she didn't have any regrets about.

Haley walked into her son's room. He was standing up in his crib, wearing his footed blue onesie pajamas, crying. This was not normal. He was such a good, easy baby. He'd slept through the night since he was two months old and very rarely cried. As she looked into those watery, soulful, blue eyes, the ones that matched the set she was already missing, she swore he knew what was happening; he knew his father was gone.

Haley scooped him up and pressed him close to her. His wet, chubby cheek squished up against hers. "There, there. It's okay. Your daddy's coming back. I promise you he is. And he loves you _so much_. He loves us both so much. Mommy loves you, too. Right now, Mommy's going to take care of you."

She kissed the side of his head and then looked at him. He had wide-eyes as if on high alert, yet also strong and calm, as if quietly supporting her. Yes, her son was just like his father in so many ways. She never thought she could love another person as much as she loved Nathan. She was so wrong.

Having her son changed everything. Her heart doubled in size, as did her compassion and empathy for others. The world looked different to her; like it went from black and white to color-overnight.

It was different for Nathan. As much as he enjoyed being a father, she knew he felt the added stress of keeping two people—the two people he loved most in the world—safe. Haley wasn't as worried about their safety. She hadn't been since they moved to this small town. She relied on her intuition and it served her well. She reached out and made friends that became her family; just like she promised her mother she would.

Nathan consistently struggled with this. He never really let his guard down. Now, in retrospect, Haley could see it for what it was. He was keeping his guard up, so she could let hers down. Once again, he was sacrificing part of who he was for her—and their son.

Haley sat down in the white painted, hand carved wooden rocking chair. That chair meant more to her than any other object in that room.

Haley was startled when there was a loud banging on the door. She set her son down in his crib and shut the door behind her. The kitchen, on the second floor apartment of the two family house, was just steps away. The banging continued, along with a set of footsteps coming up the stairway from the first floor. There were at least two people at her door—maybe more.

She quietly pulled a chair over to the cabinets above the refrigerator. She could hear two voices outside the door as the banging stopped.

"Leigha! Leigha! Open up! We know you're in there!"

"Don't call her that! Call her by her _real_ name."

"Haley! Open up!"

Haley pulled out the lockbox and stepped down from the chair. She set the box down on the kitchen table and went got the key. She opened it up and took out the handgun. She went towards the door in the far corner of the room. She held the gun in her hand, closed her eyes and braced herself for what was to come.

With Nathan gone, she was going to be the one to protect their family. It was the way it had to be.

* * *

The second the plane was in the air, Nathan realized the mistake he had just made. If he could have gotten off the plane, he would have, but it was too late. There was no going back now. So he had to sit back and let his regret consume him. He looked out the window of the plane and each twinkling light from down below set off an alarming thought.

What was he doing on a plane? How did he forget his fear of planes so easily? He had made such a big deal about that at one point. He flat out refused Haley's attempts to get him to face his fear, but now here he was, with his fear as an afterthought. The dire circumstances were the only possible explanation. When in life and death situations, he always rose to the occasion. In this case, he'd convinced himself this was the case. Haley clearly disagreed. What if she was right? What if the adrenaline wore off and he had a panic attack? It wasn't the only thing that worried him. He was more worried about his family.

What was he thinking leaving his wife and child alone in that remote part of the country? What if that was the setup? What if the news of his father's death was all just a hoax to lure him out of hiding so that Damien could get at Haley? He hadn't thought of that until now. It was enough to keep his panic away and the adrenaline going.

He still didn't believe it was a setup. Nathan trusted what his father told him. Dan had, after all, foretold of his own death at the hands of the West family. It was that guilt and desperation that finally drove Nathan to the brink. It had been a long time coming. He had been bottling things up and side for a long time—ever since they went on the run. Now, it was time to deal with those feelings.

Nathan tried to work through his feelings while on that plane ride. While people around him slept or watched movies, he looked at the window and thought about all the things that brought him to that point. Not long ago, he never would have imagined leaving Haley. Even worse, he ignored her pleas to stay. What kind of a husband was he?

He vowed to make it up to her when he got back. But Haley didn't believe he would get back; that was what led to her frantic state. He hated making her feel that. Well, he was going to go back, but only in the right frame of mind. First, he had to deal with his issues. If he just went back like that, it wouldn't solve anything. Eventually, he'd end up right back in this same spot.

So, it was off to the place he considered home. He was done with people judging him, scared of what they'd find. He was done living his life like a masquerade. Looking back, it was such a waste of time. It was time to stop hiding and start living. He was taking his life back. He just had to make it back home first.

* * *

Nathan kept his head down as he walked up to the front door. It was dark and there didn't seem to be anyone around, but he was still nervous. It had been too easy to get there. He had to go through one security guard at the gate, but that guy was an idiot. He didn't even have to give much of a story to get past him. Still, even if that guy wasn't on top of his game, he felt there should have been another security guard standing right outside the door to the house. Unless this was just another setup?

Through the windows, Nathan could see lights on. He rang the doorbell and waited. When the door opened up, he was greeted with an audible gasp.

"Nathan!"

"Mom," Nathan said quietly. Seeing some slow movement from the back, he arched his head to the right. He was shocked at what he saw.

"Dad? Is that-Is it Dad?"

"Yes. Yes, it is."

* * *

AN: Hopefully I didn't give too much away here. This part of the story definitely requires the most "suspension of disbelief." I know that is a tall order considering the other parts, but I wanted to put that out there! Like seasons 7-9, it leaves some characters behind and brings in some from season 5 on. I also pull from OTH plots for seasons 5-8, while part 4 will be kind of like season 9 and wrap everything up.

Unfortunately, I probably won't begin regularly posting the chapters for this story until winter. There is a lot to work out and I don't want to make any mistakes so I want to have a lot written before I start. I posted this now while _Far Away_ is still fresh in your minds so you could set your story alerts or bookmarks or whatever. In the meantime, I plan on posting for _Arms_ soon and I also have another story idea that I can't seem to stop writing.

Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your initial thoughts.


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